[Woody and Dexter Unreleased tracks.]

How's the music and the sound quality? Great bands... Also, what's the total playing time? It looks like three entire sets!

 

[Steve Coleman, MORPHOGENESIS]

Lovely. IIRC Big Sid missed the date...

 

[Erroll Garner’s “Concert By the Sea” as 3-CD Box by Sony Legacy]

Martial Solal at Newport was a fake.  I don't know if the live recording was faulty or they just recorded it in the studio and added the applause for the vibe, and of course the Joe Daley trio was also a fake live recording (both RCA). 

[Art Ensemble "live in Paris" (is it actually Paris?)]

To answer the initial query (and speaking from memory), I believe the video consists of the first half-hour of the 1970 gig (ie disc 2 of Live in Paris).  It's a wonderful video, which captures the fluidity and concentration of the Ensemble at its best, and the visuals add something substantial to the audio version.

[Overlooked pianists]

Lowell Davidson. His only recording for ESP doesn't sound like anyone else, with a kind of delicacy unusual in "free" pianists of the time. Apparently Ornette recommended him to the label.  I also like Joseph Scianni's duo album with David Izenson on Savoy. The only other recording by him that I know of is the recently issued Don Cherry/Pharoah Sanders 5tet side. Another really distinctive voice.  Any other fans of these two?

Joseph Scianni has recently (in the past 10 - 15 years) recorded for Bob Rusch / Cadence / CIMP. This includes a solo piano recital, NIGHT PEOPLE. I've not heard it, but am intrigued... in part as it wasn't recorded at "The Spirit Room."

Another one: Jack Reilly. Studied with Tristano and Hall Overton; like Denny Zeitlin or Don Friedman or (name your own), a player with a unique approach to modal structures. Dates on Progressive and his own Unichrom label. BLUES-SEAN-GREEN, with Jack Siz and Joe Cocuzzo, is a good introduction to his work.

Thanks for the heads up about Scianni's CIMP album.  I must look that up!

[Overlooked pianists]

Lowell Davidson. His only recording for ESP doesn't sound like anyone else, with a kind of delicacy unusual in "free" pianists of the time. Apparently Ornette recommended him to the label.  I also like Joseph Scianni's duo album with David Izenson on Savoy. The only other recording by him that I know of is the recently issued Don Cherry/Pharoah Sanders 5tet side. Another really distinctive voice.  Any other fans of these two?

[Sam Rivers on Rivbea]

These are also available on emusic in the UK, and there seems to be a steady flow of reissues, including Paragon and Streams from earlier decades as well as more recent FMP releases.  There is a similar reissue programme on emusic from the "Chet Baker Estate", including material from a range of labels, and like the Rivers the presentation doesn't have the "feel" of a pirate label...

 

M

[Gerard Schwarz - The New Trumpet]

He was principal trumpet in the NY Phil before taking up conducting and plays the astonishing opening trumpet solo on the NY Phil recording of Elliot Carter's Symphony for Three Orchestras (with Boulez). Apparently Carter admired Schwarz and wanted to write something that would stretch him, which it certainly does. IIRC the opening is meant to evoke the opening of a Hart Crane poem with seagulls swooping around the Brooklyn Bridge. And the trumpet solo does a lot of swooping...

[Your Favorite Bird Live Recording]

One of the first jazz LPs I bought back in the very early 70s, the Ornithology with Fats and Bud is still one of the essential jazz recordings for me. Both this and the Columbia shown below play back above pitch; there is a remastering on one of the Andorran labels that corrects this (surprisingly enough!) It was a shock to hear the pitch corrected version (just that little bit slower and calm), but actually it makes sense when you get used to it. Has anyone else logged this?

One Night in Birdland

There's just something about this one for me. From the opening notes of Wahoo it's just 'perfect'.

[bass clarinet]

Adventure/Equation is of course on Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy! A classic performance.

[bass clarinet]

John Gilmore: Fantastic solo on Andrew Hill's Compulsion, and some great spots with Sun Ra (I think the big feature is called Adventure/Equation, can't remember which album it's on). He said that he loaned his instrument to a colleague who dropped it and broke it and that he (Gilmore) never played it again. Eloe Omoe did some great bass clarinet work on some of Ra's 70s albums as well, including one on the long bonus track on the Universe in Blue reissue that has shown up on ITunes, Spotify, eMusic, etc. And I think Robert Cummings (sic?) had some impressive solo spots in the 60s with Ra as well. Apologies for being to lazy to look up the details! No discographies to hand at the moment...

[*** SUN RA Corner***]

Well, I hope these come out on disc in the future, I could enjoy the sonic upgrade, but I'm not a downloader.

newer info: someone from the saturn list said that there was mention of releasing these remastered versions on disc.

Ah. Any details about timescale, etc? I've downloaded two already (am enjoying a lot) and was thinking of pushing the button on a couple more, but if real discs are imminent...

A recent release from Trost, the Sun Ra Arkestra Live in Nickelsdorf, 1984, is a fairly typical in terms of his '80s repertoire, but it should be noted that this well recorded concert features outstanding John Gilmore solo after John Gilmore solo... He's in very good form throughout--amazing sounding actually.

Thanks! As I really enjoy John Gilmore's soloing, this is good to know.

Yes, thanks for the info and recommendation. I saw the release advertised, looked at the set list and decided I could do without yet another typical mid 80s date, but if this is a Gilmore fest then I'd better add this to my list. Next to Ra, he's the soloist in the band I always want to hear more of!

[How is Walt Dickerson's "Lawrence of Arabia" (Dauntless)?]

Love his playing, I think I have all of his recordings, and I second the recommendations of To My Queen: the very best of his 60s recordings. Tell Me Only the Beautiful Things from 1976 (I think Candid has reissued this) with WILBUR WARE and Andrew Cyrille is another favourite. Lawrence of Arabia OK, but as Felser pointed out, good to have it with the even better Unity on the twofer. A unique, uncompromising voice, and uses the vibes in a way that takes the instrument to a different place from most. The two Steeplechase duet albums with Richard Davis also go to different and marvellous places. And I'm very fond of the duet album with fellow Philadelphia resident Sun Ra...

[*** SUN RA Corner***]

^{this is a fairly complete list of the bonus tracks (previously unissued material) on the itunes 2014 reissues.}

^{info is from several sources.}

^{'Explore the Cosmos' compilations. volumes 4, 6, 9:}

^{Vol. 4 - Piano and Organ}

^{April in Paris - CW rehearsal tape (3:56)}

^{Rhythm & Romance - organ tapes (2:45)}

^{Gone with the Wind (4:08)}

^{Piano Interlude (1949) (0:39)}

^{My Dreams Tell Me (Part 1) - organ tapes (3:43)}

^{Vol. 6 - The Blues}

^{Dawn (excerpt) - Strange Strings session tapes (6:19)}

^{Vol. 9 - Vocals}

^{Memories of You (1949) (1:40)}

^{Recollections of There (4:52) w/Theda Bara}

^{The Living Myth (1976) (3:53) w/June Tyson}

^{Reissues with bonus tracks:}

^{Monorails and Satellites:}

^{Soundscapes (Previously Unreleased) 3:25}

^{The Eternal Tomorrow (Previously Unreleased) 5:42}

^{The Changing Wind (Previously Unreleased) 3:51}

^{World Island Festival (Previously Unreleased) 6:17}

^{Don't Blame Me (Previously Unreleased) 4:36}

^{Today Is Not Yesterday (Previously Unreleased) 4:08}

^{Invisible shield:}

^{Islands in the sun 10:23 (extended)}

^{Strange strings:}

^{Thunder of the Gods (Mono, Previously Unreleased) 13:23}

^{Cosmos Miraculous (Mono, Previously Unreleased) 11.10}

^{Moonshots Across the Sky (Mono, Previously Unreleased) 5:41}

^{Universe in Blue:}

^{Blackman (very extended)}

^{Calling Planet Earth--We'll Wait For You (Bonus Track, Stereo) 23:31}

^{Secrets Of The Sun:}

^{Reflects Motion Part 1}

^{Reflects Motion Part 3}

^{Project Black Mass}

^Atlantis:

^{Yucatan (Impulse version extended slightly)}

Bimini (extended slightly)

^{miscellaneous}

^{Black Sky Blue Moon 3.02 (bonus from "Nubians of Plutonia")}

^{Spontaneous Simplicity 3.01 (bonus from "Nubians of Plutonia")}

^{Ankhnaton (4.19) (bonus from "Nubians of Plutonia")}

^{Images in a Mirror (3.42) (bonus from "Nubians of Plutonia")}

^{The Nile part 2 (5:47) (bonus from "When Sun Comes Out")}

^{Street of Dreams (5:49) (bonus from "Bad & Beautiful")}

^{Twilight (2.02) (bonus from "Cosmic Tones")}

^End.

Thanks for the all the detail: it's really helpful. The shorter tracks are available seperately, which is useful. BTW I have now downloaded "A Fireside Chat..." and the improvement in sound quality is startling. The lenghty title track is impresses even more now that you can get Vincent Chaney's opening horn solo in rich, full sound, and Ra's organ freak-outs sound fantastic as well. I think it's "Rose-Hued Mansions of the Sun" to sample next: another great, late conducted improv....

[*** SUN RA Corner***]

Has anyone checked out these Sun Ra reissues remastered for iTunes? The tapes are apparently supplied by a longtime band member, and the source material is supposedly way better than much of what was released during the digital era. I have no idea if they are planning to issue these as CDs or in any other lossless format. I am no fan of mp3s, but based on a few samples that I've heard, I dunno.

I just downloaded Astro Black from ITunes. It's a masterpiece (THE masterpiece?) of early 70's Ra, and although I've only listened to it on my iPad, the sound is excellent, with lots of detail. I'm not an audiophile, so don't read more into this than you should. The LP version (of which I have an old rip) was quadraphonic, and listening to it in stereo gave a very peculiar mix; the new stereo remaster is a great improvement in this respect as well. Ronnie Boykins is the key player throughout, and his bass is front and centre in the mix. The bass playing on the title track might be his finest hour, and I should really copy this over to the BASS PLAYERS thread... I'm going to try A Fireside Chat with Lucifer next. The long title track is another of my favourite "late" Ra performances, and I look forward to hearing it in improved sound. Let's hope they do Omniverse next, my favourite small group Ra of any period!

[How do you pronounce.........]

How do you pronounce the last name of the English violinist and conductor Hugo Rignold? Is it "Rye-Nold?"

Rig-Nold: just the way it looks. (I lived in Birmingham for many years, and he conducted the CBSO for a time, so his name came up occasionally with musicians who had worked with him and it was always pronounced like that).

[Kind of Blue - Mostly Other People Do the Killing]

I listened to brief samples on the website. For me, whatever the purpose of the exercise, what scuppers it from the beginning is the bass and drums. It just ain't Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb, and the subtleties of the hook-up and subtleties of time feel are completely inimitable, however well you might "imitate" a Miles solo. Re: classical performance, try sampling different versions of the Rite of Spring on the big box set issued last year. You'll be amazed at how wildly different the performances are from each other in countless ways. Playing the notes is NEVER just playing the notes...

[Other Obscure Pianists]

Joseph Scianni. Wonderful duo record with Izenson on Savoy, and on the Don Cherry/Pharoah Sanders sides. Not like anyone else I've heard, free, but not in the Cecil mould. Also Willie Jones who is head turning on the Clark Terry Paul Gonsalves date on Argo. Somewhere between Milt Buckner and Cecil.

[Let's Talk About Gary McFarland Now!]

I will look for Latin Shadows AND The Eye of the Devil asap. Thanks for the recommendations!

[Let's Talk About Gary McFarland Now!]

IMHO October Suite is a masterpiece. Although it postdates most of the "third stream" in its original incarnation, the integration between the writing and the improvising is way ahead of most of the works that came out under that rubric. And the transitions in Kuhn's playing between written and improvised passages are seamlessly handled: in fact, I'm not always sure which is which!

[Jimmy Giuffre 3&4 - New York Concerts 1965]

Just downloaded this from emusic yesterday. It's a winner. Excellent sound on both dates and they fill in a BIG part of the story of Giuffre's wilderness years (wilderness as in not recording). The quartet is particularly fine, and is even more impressive than the 1964 trio recording from Paris with Friedman and Phillips, with Chambers adding a lot to the party. There are shades of Free Fall (a favourite of mine) and Friedman's quartet recordings with Attilla Zoller, but the ensemble has it's own character and the interaction is at a high level. The trio was apparently a one-off and is inevitably looser, but it warms up as it progresses, and Davis is stunning! I look forward to other views. Let's hope there are more recordings of Giuffre and others from this source, and fingers crossed that the trio with Pullen was documented somehow/sometime. It's heartening that there are folk out there willing to put this kind of material out (legitimately) and with real care.

[Portsmouth Sinfonia Plays The Popular Classics]

I remember Gavin saying that he sent copies of the LP to both Bernstein and Boulez. Bernstein wrote back immediately and enthusiastically, Boulez declined to comment...

[don shirley, pianist, has passed away]

That's intriguing: What did they do together?

[Paul Gonsalves' "Cookin'"]

Thanks for pointing me in these directions. I'll do some Spotify searching over the coming days and weeks. A genuine original!

[Paul Gonsalves' "Cookin'"]

Yes, the Terry/Gonsalves is very good. Willie Jones is astonishing (my favourite solo is on Funky). I can't think of anyone else in the 50's working in quite this direction. The on-line discography is depressing in that he seems to have recorded very little. Does anyone know if any of his other recordings are available anywhere/anyhow?